the Houdini course I’m taking on uDemy that I got for free is actually put together really well. the instructor repeatedly drills the same techniques, preformed in slightly different manners and contexts, and goes over every aspect thoroughly… at least at first.
every so often however, he leaves a few gaps, pointing out the areas that were not explicitly covered in video and reassuring you the effect can be achieved with techniques previously covered.
this makes for an excellent opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in small, digestible spurts that you know you can tackle; almost like a homework assignment or practice exercise. as the course nears the end, the gaps get wider and it forces you to get more comfortable with the software and in turn find some of your own tricks along the way.
i am very satisfied with the courses effectiveness. after taking a few weeks off to implement a few features i was itching to see in game, i returned to the course to find the largest gap yet.
the neat thing about Houdini, is even when I feel like I’ve messed something up, I always seem to be able to fix it if I just keep plucking away at it. I’ve never been forced to redo work or restore from a previous save file iteration, i just kinda reconfigure.
very cool.